EP3361889B1 - Method and system for automated stacking and loading wrapped facemasks into a carton in a manufacturing line - Google Patents
Method and system for automated stacking and loading wrapped facemasks into a carton in a manufacturing line Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP3361889B1 EP3361889B1 EP15787392.8A EP15787392A EP3361889B1 EP 3361889 B1 EP3361889 B1 EP 3361889B1 EP 15787392 A EP15787392 A EP 15787392A EP 3361889 B1 EP3361889 B1 EP 3361889B1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- facemasks
- rotary wheel
- carton
- wheel conveyor
- pick
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Not-in-force
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B5/00—Packaging individual articles in containers or receptacles, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, jars
- B65B5/10—Filling containers or receptacles progressively or in stages by introducing successive articles, or layers of articles
- B65B5/105—Filling containers or receptacles progressively or in stages by introducing successive articles, or layers of articles by grippers
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B25/00—Packaging other articles presenting special problems
- B65B25/20—Packaging garments, e.g. socks, stockings, shirts
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B35/00—Supplying, feeding, arranging or orientating articles to be packaged
- B65B35/10—Feeding, e.g. conveying, single articles
- B65B35/16—Feeding, e.g. conveying, single articles by grippers
- B65B35/18—Feeding, e.g. conveying, single articles by grippers by suction-operated grippers
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B35/00—Supplying, feeding, arranging or orientating articles to be packaged
- B65B35/10—Feeding, e.g. conveying, single articles
- B65B35/26—Feeding, e.g. conveying, single articles by rotary conveyors
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B35/00—Supplying, feeding, arranging or orientating articles to be packaged
- B65B35/56—Orientating, i.e. changing the attitude of, articles, e.g. of non-uniform cross-section
- B65B35/58—Turning articles by positively-acting means, e.g. to present labelled portions in uppermost position
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B57/00—Automatic control, checking, warning, or safety devices
- B65B57/10—Automatic control, checking, warning, or safety devices responsive to absence, presence, abnormal feed, or misplacement of articles or materials to be packaged
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B57/00—Automatic control, checking, warning, or safety devices
- B65B57/10—Automatic control, checking, warning, or safety devices responsive to absence, presence, abnormal feed, or misplacement of articles or materials to be packaged
- B65B57/14—Automatic control, checking, warning, or safety devices responsive to absence, presence, abnormal feed, or misplacement of articles or materials to be packaged and operating to control, or stop, the feed of articles or material to be packaged
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B65/00—Details peculiar to packaging machines and not otherwise provided for; Arrangements of such details
- B65B65/003—Packaging lines, e.g. general layout
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B9/00—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, e.g. liquids or semiliquids, in flat, folded, or tubular webs of flexible sheet material; Subdividing filled flexible tubes to form packages
- B65B9/02—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material between opposed webs
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B9/00—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, e.g. liquids or semiliquids, in flat, folded, or tubular webs of flexible sheet material; Subdividing filled flexible tubes to form packages
- B65B9/06—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, in a longitudinally-folded web, or in a web folded into a tube about the articles or quantities of material placed upon it
- B65B9/067—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, in a longitudinally-folded web, or in a web folded into a tube about the articles or quantities of material placed upon it the web advancing continuously
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
- B65G47/74—Feeding, transfer, or discharging devices of particular kinds or types
- B65G47/84—Star-shaped wheels or devices having endless travelling belts or chains, the wheels or devices being equipped with article-engaging elements
- B65G47/846—Star-shaped wheels or wheels equipped with article-engaging elements
- B65G47/848—Star-shaped wheels or wheels equipped with article-engaging elements the article-engaging elements being suction or magnetic means
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B2210/00—Specific aspects of the packaging machine
- B65B2210/02—Plurality of alternative input or output lines or plurality of alternative packaging units on the same packaging line for improving machine flexibility
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B2220/00—Specific aspects of the packaging operation
- B65B2220/16—Packaging contents into primary and secondary packaging
- B65B2220/18—Packaging contents into primary and secondary packaging the primary packaging being bags the subsequent secondary packaging being rigid containers, e.g. cardboard box
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B61/00—Auxiliary devices, not otherwise provided for, for operating on sheets, blanks, webs, binding material, containers or packages
- B65B61/04—Auxiliary devices, not otherwise provided for, for operating on sheets, blanks, webs, binding material, containers or packages for severing webs, or for separating joined packages
- B65B61/06—Auxiliary devices, not otherwise provided for, for operating on sheets, blanks, webs, binding material, containers or packages for severing webs, or for separating joined packages by cutting
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G2201/00—Indexing codes relating to handling devices, e.g. conveyors, characterised by the type of product or load being conveyed or handled
- B65G2201/02—Articles
- B65G2201/0229—Clothes, clothes hangers
Definitions
- the present invention relates generally to the field of protective facemasks, and more specifically to a method and system for stacking and packaging wrapped facemask in the manufacturing line of such facemasks.
- facemasks Various configurations of disposable filtering facemasks or respirators are known and may be referred to by various names, including “facemasks”, “respirators”, “filtering face respirators”, and so forth. For purposes of this disclosure, such devices are referred to generically as “facemasks.”
- Patent documents GB 2 092 090 A and EP 0 806 343 A2 disclose known automated methods and corresponding systems of transferring products between a pick up position and a downstream delivery position by means of rotating conveyor wheels having intermittent motion.
- the present invention addresses this need and provides a method for high speed aligning and stacking of wrapped facemasks into a carton for further high speed packaging.
- an automated method for stacking and placing wrapped or unwrapped facemasks into a carton in a facemask production line.
- Individual wrapped or unwrapped facemasks are conveyed in a continuous stream to a delivery location at a rotary wheel conveyor having individual pick-up devices spaced around a circumference thereof.
- a rotary wheel conveyor rotatings by the delivery location, each individual wrapped facemask is picked up by a respective pick-up device and is transported by the rotary wheel conveyor to a first carton staging area at a first location on the circumference of the rotary wheel.
- the facemasks are sequentially released by the pick-up devices and are deposited into a carton.
- the method includes staging a plurality of the cartons at the first staging area, and when the carton is filled with a predefined number of the facemasks, the filled carton is moved from the first staging area and an empty carton is moved into the first staging area for subsequent filling. Desirably, this transfer of cartons is done without disrupting or slowing pick-up of the facemasks by the rotary wheel.
- the method may include providing a second staging area at a second location on the circumference of the rotary wheel, and staging a second carton at the second staging area.
- the discharge position of the rotary wheel conveyor can be indexed to the second staging area wherein the second carton can be filled with a defined number of the facemasks without interruption or slow-down of the production line.
- the first and second cartons may have a different size and are filled with a different number of facemasks, which adds significant versatility to the production line.
- the method may also include rotating individual facemasks on the rotary wheel conveyor with the pick-up devices as needed to ensure that the facemasks are deposited into the carton in the desired alternating stack pattern.
- the facemasks may be conveyed to the delivery location at the rotary wheel conveyor in an initial transversely offset configuration relative to a conveying axis of the conveyor.
- the method may include aligning the facemasks along a common conveying axis by removing the offset between adjacent facemasks as the facemasks are conveyed along the production line prior to reaching the rotary wheel.
- the rotary wheel conveyor is operationally disposed above the wrapped facemasks in the production line, and the pick-up devices are vacuum pucks spaced around an underside of the rotary wheel.
- the wrapped facemasks are drawn onto the pucks as the pucks pass overhead at the delivery location.
- the pucks release the facemasks, which can fall by gravity or be guided into the carton.
- the pucks may be rotatable relative to the rotary wheel, wherein the method further includes rotating the facemasks on the rotary wheel conveyor as needed to achieve a desired stacking pattern at the staging areas.
- the pick-up devices are stationary relative to the rotary wheel conveyor such that the facemasks are deposited into the carton in an orientation in which the facemasks were picked up by the pick-up devices.
- the facemasks are in an initial alternating pattern when picked up by the pick-up devices, and are deposited into the carton in this initial alternating pattern.
- the associated pick-up device of such facemask is controlled so as not to release the facemask at the carton staging area.
- the facemask is transported to a reject location and then released. If this occurs, in order to maintain the desired alternating stacking pattern at the staging area, the subsequent facemasks can be rotated by the pick-up devices on the rotary wheel.
- the method may include also bypassing the carton with the facemask immediately adjacent to the rejected facemask on the rotary wheel conveyor so as to keep the alternating stack pattern of facemasks deposited into the carton.
- the present invention also encompasses various system embodiments for automated stacking and placing of wrapped facemasks into a carton in a facemask production line in accordance with the present methods, as described and supported herein.
- the present methods relate to stacking and loading individually wrapped facemasks into a carton in an automated production line.
- the current methods will reduce the time spent on these processes as compared to current production lines, and thus contribute to achieving the production throughputs necessary for on-demand facemasks during extreme situations (e.g., a pandemic or natural disaster).
- extreme situations e.g., a pandemic or natural disaster.
- the upstream production steps for forming and wrapping the individual facemasks are not limiting aspects of the invention and, thus, will not be explained in great detail herein.
- the present disclosure refers to or implies conveyance or transport of certain components of the facemasks through the production line.
- article conveyors e.g., rotary and linear conveyors
- article placers e.g. vacuum puck placers
- transfer devices are well known in the article conveying industry and can be used for the purposes described herein. It is not necessary for an understanding and appreciation of the present methods to provide a detailed explanation of these well-known devices and system.
- facemasks including generally trapezoidal cone masks and flat pleated facemasks are well-known, and the present methods may have utility in the production lines for these conventional masks.
- aspects of the present method are described herein with reference to a particular type of trapezoidal respirator facemask often referred to in the art as a "duckbill" mask, as illustrated in Fig. 1 .
- a representative facemask 11 (e.g., a duckbill facemask) is illustrated on the face of wearer 12.
- the mask 11 includes filter body 14 that is secured to the wearer 12 by means of resilient and elastic straps or securing members 16 and 18.
- the filter body 14 includes an upper portion 20 and a lower portion 22, both of which have complimentary trapezoidal shapes and are preferably bonded together such as by heat and/or ultrasonic sealing along three sides. Bonding in this manner adds important structural integrity to mask 11.
- the fourth side of the mask 11 is open and includes a top edge 24 and a bottom edge 38, which cooperate with each other to define the periphery of the mask 11 that contacts the wearer's face.
- the top edge 24 is arranged to receive an elongated malleable member 26 ( Fig. 2 ) in the form of a flat metal ribbon or wire (referred to herein as a "nose wire").
- the nose wire 26 is provided so that top edge 24 of mask 11 can be configured to closely fit the contours of the nose and cheeks of wearer 12.
- the nose wire 26 is typically constructed from an aluminum strip with a rectangular cross-section. With the exception of having the nose wire 26 located along top edge 24 of the upper portion 20 of the mask 11, the upper and lower portions 20 and 22 may be identical.
- the mask 11 has the general shape of a cup or cone when placed on the face of wearer 12 and thus provides "off-the-face” benefits of a molded-cone style mask while still being easy for wearer 12 to carry mask 11 in a pocket prior to use.
- "Off-the-face” style masks provide a larger breathing chamber as compared to soft, pleated masks which contact a substantial portion of the wearer's face. Therefore, "off-the-face" masks permit cooler and easier breathing.
- the nose wire 26 is preferably positioned in the center of top edge 24 and has a length in the range of fifty percent (50%) to seventy percent (70%) of the total length of the top edge 24.
- the upper and lower portions 20 and 22 may include multiple layers and each have an outer mask layer 30 and inner mask layer. Located between the outer and inner mask layers are one or more intermediate filtration layers that are typically constructed from a melt-blown polypropylene, extruded polycarbonate, melt-blown polyester, or a melt-blown urethane.
- the top edge 24 of the mask 11 is faced with an edge binder 36 that extends across the open end of mask 11 and covers the nose wire 26.
- the bottom edge 38 is encompassed by an edge binder 40.
- Edge binders 36 and 40 are folded over and bonded to the respective edges 24, 38 after placement of the nose wire 26 along the top edge 24.
- the edge binders 36, 40 may be constructed from a spun-laced polyester material.
- Fig. 3 depicts portions of a generic production line 102 for automated, in-line production of individual facemasks. It should be appreciated that the various processes, equipment, controls, etc., can vary greatly between different production lines 102, and that Fig. 3 is presented for illustrative purposes only. The methods described herein will have utility in many different types of production lines 102.
- Fig. 3 represents a production line 102 wherein nose wires are incorporated into an edge of the facemasks.
- a running nose wire 106 is supplied in continuous strip form from a source, such as a driven spool or roll 104, to a cutting station 107 wherein the wire 106 is cut into individual nose wires 108 having a defined length. Suitable cutting stations 107 are known and used in conventional production lines.
- the nose wires 108 are conveyed onto a carrier web 110, which, referring to Fig. 2 , may be the continuous multi-layer web that defines the upper body portion 20 of the finished face mask 11.
- the individual nose wires 108 are deposited along the edge of the carrier web 110 corresponding to the top edge 24 of the facemask 11 in Fig. 2 .
- a binder web 112 is introduced to the production line 102 along both edges of the carrier web 110 (only one binder web 112 is depicted in Fig. 3 .).
- the combination of carrier web 110, nose wire 108, and binder webs 112 pass through a folding station 114 wherein the binder webs 112 are folded around the respective running edges of the carrier web 110.
- the components then pass through a bonding station 116 wherein the binder webs 112 are thermally bonded to the carrier web 110, thereby producing the edge configurations 24, 38 depicted in Figs. 1 and 2 .
- the nose wire 108 is essentially encapsulated along the top edge 24 by the binder web 112.
- the continuous combination of carrier web 110 with nose wires 108 encapsulated in the binder 112 is conveyed to another bonding station 122.
- an additional web 118 is introduced that corresponds to the lower panel portion 22 of the face mask 11 depicted in Figs. 1 and 2 .
- This web 118 may already have the binder web applied to the edge thereof from an upstream process.
- Continuous elastomeric straps 120 are also introduced and are laid between the edges of the web 118 and web 110 corresponding to the edges 24, 28 in Fig. 1 .
- the materials are bonded together in a bond pattern that corresponds to the trapezoidal shape of the facemask 11 with a closed end and an open end at the edges 24, 28.
- the bonded webs 110 and 118 (with nose wires and straps) are conveyed to a cutting station 124 wherein the individual facemasks 101 are cut out from the webs along the bond lines.
- the facemasks 101 are then conveyed to a bonding station 128 wherein wrapping materials 126 (e.g. a poly material) are introduced and are folded (if necessary) and bonded around the individual facemasks 101.
- wrapping materials 126 e.g. a poly material
- a single web of the wrapping material 126 may be folded around the facemasks and sealed along a continuous longitudinal bond line or, in an alternate embodiment depicted by the dashed line in Fig. 3 , an additional web of the wrapping material 126 may be introduced to the bonding station, wherein the facemasks are sandwiched between the two webs 126.
- the webs 126 are then sealed along continuous longitudinal bond lines along their mating edges.
- a continuous stream of wrapped facemasks 132 emerge from the bonding station 128 and are conveyed to a cutting station 130 wherein cuts are made in the bonded wrapping material in a desired pattern to produce individual wrapped facemasks 134. These masks 134 are conveyed to downstream processing stations 136 for further processing, including stacking and packaging.
- FIG. 1 With further reference to Figs. 4 through 7 , embodiments of a method 100 are depicted that relate to the stacking and loading processes at station 140.
- individual wrapped facemasks 134 are conveyed by a conveyor 142 in a continuous stream to a delivery location 148.
- a rotary wheel conveyor 144 is operationally disposed at the delivery location 148 and includes a plurality of individual pick-up devices 146 spaced around a circumference thereof.
- pick-up devices 146 are well known in the article conveying industry, and any one or combination of such conventional devices may be used with the current method 100.
- the pick-up devices 146 may be vacuum pucks, mechanical graspers, suction devices, and so forth.
- the pick-up devices 146 are vacuum pucks and the rotary conveyor 144 operates above the conveyor 142 and facemasks 134.
- each individual wrapped facemask 134 is picked up by a respective pick-up device 146 and is transported by the rotary wheel conveyor 144 to a first carton staging area 150 at a first location on the circumference of the rotary wheel 144.
- the facemasks 134 are sequentially released by the pick-up devices 146 and are deposited into a carton 152.
- the method 100 includes staging a plurality of the cartons 152 at the first staging area 150, and when the carton152 is filled with a predefined number of the facemasks 134, the filled carton is moved from the first staging area 150 and an empty carton 152 is moved into the first staging area 150 for subsequent filling. Desirably, this transfer of cartons 152 is done without disrupting or slowing pick-up of the facemasks 134 by the rotary wheel 144.
- the facemasks 134 may have a tendency to "sling" away from the conveyor 144 upon release at the staging area 150.
- the pick-up devices 146 may be further configured to impart a downward force to the facemasks 134 upon release thereof to ensure that the facemasks 134 fall into a carton 152 staged below the pick-up device.
- the pick-up devices are vacuum pucks
- the pucks upon releasing the facemasks, the pucks may initiate a jet of pressurized air that blows the masks downwardly into the carton 152.
- the pick-up devices 146 are mechanical, for example graspers, a mechanical member may come into play upon release of the facemasks to impart the downward force to the facemasks 134.
- the method 100 may include providing a second staging area 154 at a second location on the circumference of the rotary wheel conveyor 144, and staging one or more second cartons 152 at the second staging area 154.
- the discharge position of the rotary wheel 144 can be indexed to the second staging area 154 wherein the second carton 152 can be filled with a defined number of the facemasks 134 without interruption or slow-down of the production line 102.
- Fig. 4 may be particularly useful in that the first and second cartons 152 may have a different size and are filled with a different number of facemasks, which adds significant versatility to the production line 102.
- the pick-up devices 146 may be rotatable on the rotary wheel conveyor 144, and the method 100 may also include rotating individual facemasks 134 on the rotary wheel 144 with the pick-up devices 146 as needed to ensure that the facemasks 134 are deposited into the carton 152 in the desired an alternating stack pattern.
- the pick-up devices 146 may be independently driven and controlled by a controller.
- the pick-up devices may simply allow for rotation of the facemasks 134 by means of a guide, cam, or cylinder that is actuated to contact the facemasks 134 or pick-up devices and cause rotation thereof.
- the facemasks 134 may be conveyed to the delivery location 148 at the rotary wheel conveyor 144 in an initial transversely offset alternating configuration relative to a conveying axis of the conveyor 142.
- the method 100 may include aligning edges of the facemasks 134 at an alignment station 160 so that the facemasks lie along a common conveying axis by removing the offset between adjacent facemasks 134 as the facemasks are conveyed through the station 160 prior to reaching the rotary wheel conveyor 144.
- the facemasks 134 may be aligned at the station 160 by guides positioned along the conveying path, or by an active device, such as a vacuum puck placer that picks up and repositions the facemasks 134.
- the rotary wheel conveyor 144 is operationally disposed above the wrapped facemasks 134 in the production line, and the pick-up devices 146 are vacuum pucks spaced around an underside of the rotary wheel 144.
- the wrapped facemasks 134 are drawn onto the pucks 146 as the pucks pass overhead at the delivery location 148.
- the pucks 146 release the facemasks 134, which can fall by gravity or be guided into the cartons 152.
- the pucks 146 may be rotatable relative to the rotary wheel 144, wherein the method 100 further includes rotating the facemasks 134 on the rotary wheel conveyor as needed to achieve a desired stacking pattern at the staging areas 150, 154.
- the pick-up devices 146 are stationary relative to the rotary wheel conveyor 146 such that the facemasks 134 are deposited into the carton 152 in an orientation in which the facemasks were picked up at the delivery location 148.
- the facemasks 134 are in an initial alternating pattern when picked up by the pick-up devices 146, and are deposited into the carton 152 in this initial alternating pattern.
- the associated pick-up device 146 of such facemask is controlled so as not to release the facemask 134 at the carton staging area, but to transport the facemask 134 to an alternate location 162 and then release the mask. If this occurs, in order to maintain the desired alternating stacking pattern at the staging area 150, 154, the subsequent facemask 134 can be rotated by the pick-up devices on the rotary wheel to the correct alternated position.
- the alternate location 162 (or an additional alternate location staged at the periphery of the rotary conveyor 144) may also be used to deposit good (i.e., not reject) facemasks, for example when the staging area 150 is inoperable for some reason and it is not desirable to shut down the upstream production line.
- the method 100 may include also bypassing the staging area 150, 154 with the facemask 134 immediately adjacent to the rejected facemask on the rotary wheel 144 (and possibly rejecting this mask) so as to keep the alternating stack pattern of facemasks deposited into the carton 152.
- These same techniques can be used if a facemask 134 falls off of the rotary wheel prior to reaching the staging area 150, 154, or a pick-up device 146 fails to acquire a facemask 134 at the delivery location 148.
- the facemask 134 may have a tendency to sling away from the conveyor at the staging areas 150, 154.
- Fig. 6 illustrates an embodiment wherein the cartons 152 are not staged directly under the release position of the pick-up devices 146, but are spaced radially outward from the conveyor at the staging areas 150, 154.
- Guide structure 155 such as angled chute 155 are configured at the staging areas such that, upon release, the facemasks 134 are thrown into the chute 155, which has a shape and angular orientation to direct the facemasks into the carton 152 at the desired stacking orientation.
- Fig. 7 depicts an embodiment wherein the conveyor 142 and delivery location 148 are operationally located at a circumferential position on the conveyor 144 that minimized travel time and distance to the staging areas 150, 154. Not only is there a time savings between delivery to the conveyor 144 and release into a carton 152, but centrifugal forces acting on the facemasks 134 at the time of release may also be minimized.
- unwrapped facemasks could be conveyed by conveyor 142 to the rotary conveyor 144, and then processed as described herein.
- the present invention also encompasses various system embodiments for automated stacking and loading wrapped facemasks into a carton in a facemask production line in accordance with the present methods. Aspects of such systems are illustrated in the figures, and described and supported above.
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Description
- The present invention relates generally to the field of protective facemasks, and more specifically to a method and system for stacking and packaging wrapped facemask in the manufacturing line of such facemasks.
- Various configurations of disposable filtering facemasks or respirators are known and may be referred to by various names, including "facemasks", "respirators", "filtering face respirators", and so forth. For purposes of this disclosure, such devices are referred to generically as "facemasks."
- The ability to supply aid workers, rescue personnel, and the general populace with protective facemasks during times of natural disasters or other catastrophic events is crucial. For example, in the event of a pandemic, the use of facemasks that offer filtered breathing is a key aspect of the response and recovery to such event. For this reason, governments and other municipalities generally maintain a ready stockpile of the facemasks for immediate emergency use. However, the facemasks have a defined shelf life, and the stockpile must be continuously monitored for expiration and replenishing. This is an extremely expensive undertaking.
- Recently, investigation has been initiated into whether or not it would be feasible to mass produce facemasks on an "as needed" basis during pandemics or other disasters instead of relying on stockpiles. For example, in 2013, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated that up to 100 million facemasks would be needed during a pandemic situation in the U.S., and proposed research into whether this demand could be met by mass production of from 1.5 to 2 million facemasks per day to avoid stockpiling. This translates to about 1,500 masks/minute. Current facemask production lines are capable of producing only about 100 masks/minute due to technology and equipment restraints, which falls far short of the estimated goal. Accordingly, advancements in the manufacturing and production processes will be needed if the goal of "on demand" facemasks during a pandemic is to become a reality.
- In conventional facemask production lines, once the facemasks have been cut and wrapped, manual labor is necessary to align, stack, and place the masks in a carton. These manual steps are a significant impediment to mass production of the facemasks at the throughputs mentioned above.
- Patent documents
GB 2 092 090 A EP 0 806 343 A2 - The present invention addresses this need and provides a method for high speed aligning and stacking of wrapped facemasks into a carton for further high speed packaging.
- Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
- In accordance with aspects of the invention, an automated method is provided for stacking and placing wrapped or unwrapped facemasks into a carton in a facemask production line. Individual wrapped or unwrapped facemasks are conveyed in a continuous stream to a delivery location at a rotary wheel conveyor having individual pick-up devices spaced around a circumference thereof. As the rotary wheel conveyor rotates by the delivery location, each individual wrapped facemask is picked up by a respective pick-up device and is transported by the rotary wheel conveyor to a first carton staging area at a first location on the circumference of the rotary wheel. At this first staging area, the facemasks are sequentially released by the pick-up devices and are deposited into a carton.
- In a particular embodiment, the method includes staging a plurality of the cartons at the first staging area, and when the carton is filled with a predefined number of the facemasks, the filled carton is moved from the first staging area and an empty carton is moved into the first staging area for subsequent filling. Desirably, this transfer of cartons is done without disrupting or slowing pick-up of the facemasks by the rotary wheel.
- In certain embodiments, the method may include providing a second staging area at a second location on the circumference of the rotary wheel, and staging a second carton at the second staging area. With this configuration, when the first carton is filled to a predefined number of the facemasks, the discharge position of the rotary wheel conveyor can be indexed to the second staging area wherein the second carton can be filled with a defined number of the facemasks without interruption or slow-down of the production line. With this embodiment, the first and second cartons may have a different size and are filled with a different number of facemasks, which adds significant versatility to the production line.
- With certain mask types, it is desired that the masks are arranged in an alternating stacked pattern in the carton. In this regard, the method may also include rotating individual facemasks on the rotary wheel conveyor with the pick-up devices as needed to ensure that the facemasks are deposited into the carton in the desired alternating stack pattern.
- In certain production lines, the facemasks may be conveyed to the delivery location at the rotary wheel conveyor in an initial transversely offset configuration relative to a conveying axis of the conveyor. The method may include aligning the facemasks along a common conveying axis by removing the offset between adjacent facemasks as the facemasks are conveyed along the production line prior to reaching the rotary wheel.
- In a particular equipment configuration, the rotary wheel conveyor is operationally disposed above the wrapped facemasks in the production line, and the pick-up devices are vacuum pucks spaced around an underside of the rotary wheel. The wrapped facemasks are drawn onto the pucks as the pucks pass overhead at the delivery location. At the first or second staging areas, the pucks release the facemasks, which can fall by gravity or be guided into the carton. The pucks may be rotatable relative to the rotary wheel, wherein the method further includes rotating the facemasks on the rotary wheel conveyor as needed to achieve a desired stacking pattern at the staging areas.
- In an alternate embodiment, the pick-up devices are stationary relative to the rotary wheel conveyor such that the facemasks are deposited into the carton in an orientation in which the facemasks were picked up by the pick-up devices. Thus, with this embodiment, the facemasks are in an initial alternating pattern when picked up by the pick-up devices, and are deposited into the carton in this initial alternating pattern.
- In the event that a facemask on the rotary wheel conveyor is determined to be unacceptable, the associated pick-up device of such facemask is controlled so as not to release the facemask at the carton staging area. The facemask is transported to a reject location and then released. If this occurs, in order to maintain the desired alternating stacking pattern at the staging area, the subsequent facemasks can be rotated by the pick-up devices on the rotary wheel. In the embodiment where the pick-up devices are stationary relative to the rotary wheel, the method may include also bypassing the carton with the facemask immediately adjacent to the rejected facemask on the rotary wheel conveyor so as to keep the alternating stack pattern of facemasks deposited into the carton. These same techniques can be used if a facemask falls off of the rotary wheel conveyor prior to reaching the staging area, or a pick-up device fails to acquire a facemask at the delivery location.
- The present invention also encompasses various system embodiments for automated stacking and placing of wrapped facemasks into a carton in a facemask production line in accordance with the present methods, as described and supported herein.
- Other features and aspects of the present invention are discussed in greater detail below.
- A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth more particularly in the remainder of the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures in which:
-
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional respiratory facemask worn by a user, the facemask incorporating a nose wire to conform the facemask to the user's face; -
Fig. 2 is a top view of the conventional facemask ofFig. 1 is a folded state; -
Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of facemask production line in which embodiments of the present method may be incorporated; -
Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of aspects in accordance with the present invention for stacking and loading facemasks into a carton in a production line; -
Fig. 5 is a schematic representation of aspects of other aspects in accordance with the present invention for stacking and loading facemasks into a carton in a production line; -
Fig. 6 is a schematic representation of aspects of another embodiment in accordance with the present invention; and -
Fig. 7 is a schematic representation of still a further embodiment is accordance with the present invention. - Reference now will be made in detail to various embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are set forth below. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations may be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention as set up in the appended claims. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment, may be used on another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
- As mentioned, the present methods relate to stacking and loading individually wrapped facemasks into a carton in an automated production line. The current methods will reduce the time spent on these processes as compared to current production lines, and thus contribute to achieving the production throughputs necessary for on-demand facemasks during extreme situations (e.g., a pandemic or natural disaster). It should be appreciated that the upstream production steps for forming and wrapping the individual facemasks are not limiting aspects of the invention and, thus, will not be explained in great detail herein.
- Also, the present disclosure refers to or implies conveyance or transport of certain components of the facemasks through the production line. It should be readily appreciated that any manner and combination of article conveyors (e.g., rotary and linear conveyors), article placers (e.g. vacuum puck placers), and transfer devices are well known in the article conveying industry and can be used for the purposes described herein. It is not necessary for an understanding and appreciation of the present methods to provide a detailed explanation of these well-known devices and system.
- Various styles and configurations of facemasks, including generally trapezoidal cone masks and flat pleated facemasks are well-known, and the present methods may have utility in the production lines for these conventional masks. For illustrative purposes only, aspects of the present method are described herein with reference to a particular type of trapezoidal respirator facemask often referred to in the art as a "duckbill" mask, as illustrated in
Fig. 1 . - Referring to
Figs. 1 and 2 , a representative facemask 11 (e.g., a duckbill facemask) is illustrated on the face ofwearer 12. Themask 11 includesfilter body 14 that is secured to thewearer 12 by means of resilient and elastic straps or securingmembers filter body 14 includes anupper portion 20 and alower portion 22, both of which have complimentary trapezoidal shapes and are preferably bonded together such as by heat and/or ultrasonic sealing along three sides. Bonding in this manner adds important structural integrity to mask 11. - The fourth side of the
mask 11 is open and includes atop edge 24 and abottom edge 38, which cooperate with each other to define the periphery of themask 11 that contacts the wearer's face. Thetop edge 24 is arranged to receive an elongated malleable member 26 (Fig. 2 ) in the form of a flat metal ribbon or wire (referred to herein as a "nose wire"). Thenose wire 26 is provided so thattop edge 24 ofmask 11 can be configured to closely fit the contours of the nose and cheeks ofwearer 12. Thenose wire 26 is typically constructed from an aluminum strip with a rectangular cross-section. With the exception of having thenose wire 26 located alongtop edge 24 of theupper portion 20 of themask 11, the upper andlower portions - As shown in
Fig. 1 , themask 11 has the general shape of a cup or cone when placed on the face ofwearer 12 and thus provides "off-the-face" benefits of a molded-cone style mask while still being easy forwearer 12 to carrymask 11 in a pocket prior to use. "Off-the-face" style masks provide a larger breathing chamber as compared to soft, pleated masks which contact a substantial portion of the wearer's face. Therefore, "off-the-face" masks permit cooler and easier breathing. - Blow-by associated with normal breathing of
wearer 12 is substantially eliminated by properly selecting the dimension and location of thenose wire 26 with respect to top edge of 24. Thenose wire 26 is preferably positioned in the center oftop edge 24 and has a length in the range of fifty percent (50%) to seventy percent (70%) of the total length of thetop edge 24. - The upper and
lower portions outer mask layer 30 and inner mask layer. Located between the outer and inner mask layers are one or more intermediate filtration layers that are typically constructed from a melt-blown polypropylene, extruded polycarbonate, melt-blown polyester, or a melt-blown urethane. - The
top edge 24 of themask 11 is faced with anedge binder 36 that extends across the open end ofmask 11 and covers thenose wire 26. Similarly, thebottom edge 38 is encompassed by anedge binder 40.Edge binders respective edges nose wire 26 along thetop edge 24. Theedge binders -
Fig. 3 depicts portions of ageneric production line 102 for automated, in-line production of individual facemasks. It should be appreciated that the various processes, equipment, controls, etc., can vary greatly betweendifferent production lines 102, and thatFig. 3 is presented for illustrative purposes only. The methods described herein will have utility in many different types ofproduction lines 102. -
Fig. 3 represents aproduction line 102 wherein nose wires are incorporated into an edge of the facemasks. A runningnose wire 106 is supplied in continuous strip form from a source, such as a driven spool or roll 104, to a cuttingstation 107 wherein thewire 106 is cut intoindividual nose wires 108 having a defined length. Suitable cuttingstations 107 are known and used in conventional production lines. - The
nose wires 108 are conveyed onto acarrier web 110, which, referring toFig. 2 , may be the continuous multi-layer web that defines theupper body portion 20 of thefinished face mask 11. Theindividual nose wires 108 are deposited along the edge of thecarrier web 110 corresponding to thetop edge 24 of thefacemask 11 inFig. 2 . - After placement of the
individual nose wires 108 in position on thecarrier web 110, abinder web 112 is introduced to theproduction line 102 along both edges of the carrier web 110 (only onebinder web 112 is depicted inFig. 3 .). The combination ofcarrier web 110,nose wire 108, andbinder webs 112 pass through afolding station 114 wherein thebinder webs 112 are folded around the respective running edges of thecarrier web 110. The components then pass through abonding station 116 wherein thebinder webs 112 are thermally bonded to thecarrier web 110, thereby producing theedge configurations Figs. 1 and 2 . Thenose wire 108 is essentially encapsulated along thetop edge 24 by thebinder web 112. - From the
bonding station 116, the continuous combination ofcarrier web 110 withnose wires 108 encapsulated in thebinder 112 is conveyed to anotherbonding station 122. At this station, anadditional web 118 is introduced that corresponds to thelower panel portion 22 of theface mask 11 depicted inFigs. 1 and 2 . Thisweb 118 may already have the binder web applied to the edge thereof from an upstream process. Continuouselastomeric straps 120 are also introduced and are laid between the edges of theweb 118 andweb 110 corresponding to theedges 24, 28 inFig. 1 . The materials are bonded together in a bond pattern that corresponds to the trapezoidal shape of thefacemask 11 with a closed end and an open end at theedges 24, 28. - The bonded
webs 110 and 118 (with nose wires and straps) are conveyed to a cuttingstation 124 wherein theindividual facemasks 101 are cut out from the webs along the bond lines. - The
facemasks 101 are then conveyed to abonding station 128 wherein wrapping materials 126 (e.g. a poly material) are introduced and are folded (if necessary) and bonded around theindividual facemasks 101. A single web of the wrappingmaterial 126 may be folded around the facemasks and sealed along a continuous longitudinal bond line or, in an alternate embodiment depicted by the dashed line inFig. 3 , an additional web of the wrappingmaterial 126 may be introduced to the bonding station, wherein the facemasks are sandwiched between the twowebs 126. Thewebs 126 are then sealed along continuous longitudinal bond lines along their mating edges. - A continuous stream of wrapped
facemasks 132 emerge from thebonding station 128 and are conveyed to a cuttingstation 130 wherein cuts are made in the bonded wrapping material in a desired pattern to produce individual wrappedfacemasks 134. Thesemasks 134 are conveyed to downstream processing stations 136 for further processing, including stacking and packaging. - With further reference to
Figs. 4 through 7 , embodiments of amethod 100 are depicted that relate to the stacking and loading processes atstation 140. - Referring to the embodiment of
Fig. 4 , individual wrappedfacemasks 134 are conveyed by aconveyor 142 in a continuous stream to adelivery location 148. Arotary wheel conveyor 144 is operationally disposed at thedelivery location 148 and includes a plurality of individual pick-updevices 146 spaced around a circumference thereof. Various types of pick-updevices 146 are well known in the article conveying industry, and any one or combination of such conventional devices may be used with thecurrent method 100. For example, the pick-updevices 146 may be vacuum pucks, mechanical graspers, suction devices, and so forth. In the illustrated embodiments, the pick-updevices 146 are vacuum pucks and therotary conveyor 144 operates above theconveyor 142 andfacemasks 134. - As the
rotary wheel conveyor 144 rotates by thedelivery location 148, each individual wrappedfacemask 134 is picked up by a respective pick-updevice 146 and is transported by therotary wheel conveyor 144 to a firstcarton staging area 150 at a first location on the circumference of therotary wheel 144. At thisfirst staging area 150, thefacemasks 134 are sequentially released by the pick-updevices 146 and are deposited into acarton 152. - In a particular embodiment, the
method 100 includes staging a plurality of thecartons 152 at thefirst staging area 150, and when the carton152 is filled with a predefined number of thefacemasks 134, the filled carton is moved from thefirst staging area 150 and anempty carton 152 is moved into thefirst staging area 150 for subsequent filling. Desirably, this transfer ofcartons 152 is done without disrupting or slowing pick-up of thefacemasks 134 by therotary wheel 144. - Depending on the processing speed of the line, and the rotational speed of the
rotary conveyor 144 in particular, thefacemasks 134 may have a tendency to "sling" away from theconveyor 144 upon release at thestaging area 150. In this regard, the pick-updevices 146 may be further configured to impart a downward force to thefacemasks 134 upon release thereof to ensure that thefacemasks 134 fall into acarton 152 staged below the pick-up device. For example, in the embodiment wherein the pick-up devices are vacuum pucks, upon releasing the facemasks, the pucks may initiate a jet of pressurized air that blows the masks downwardly into thecarton 152. In the embodiment wherein the pick-updevices 146 are mechanical, for example graspers, a mechanical member may come into play upon release of the facemasks to impart the downward force to thefacemasks 134. - Still referring to
Fig. 4 , themethod 100 may include providing asecond staging area 154 at a second location on the circumference of therotary wheel conveyor 144, and staging one or moresecond cartons 152 at thesecond staging area 154. With this configuration, when thefirst carton 152 is filled to a predefined number of thefacemasks 134 at thefirst staging area 150, the discharge position of therotary wheel 144 can be indexed to thesecond staging area 154 wherein thesecond carton 152 can be filled with a defined number of thefacemasks 134 without interruption or slow-down of theproduction line 102. - The embodiment of
Fig. 4 may be particularly useful in that the first andsecond cartons 152 may have a different size and are filled with a different number of facemasks, which adds significant versatility to theproduction line 102. - With certain mask types, it is desired that the facemasks134 are arranged in an alternating stacked pattern in the
carton 152. In this regard, the pick-updevices 146 may be rotatable on therotary wheel conveyor 144, and themethod 100 may also include rotatingindividual facemasks 134 on therotary wheel 144 with the pick-updevices 146 as needed to ensure that thefacemasks 134 are deposited into thecarton 152 in the desired an alternating stack pattern. In this embodiment, the pick-updevices 146 may be independently driven and controlled by a controller. Alternatively, the pick-up devices may simply allow for rotation of thefacemasks 134 by means of a guide, cam, or cylinder that is actuated to contact thefacemasks 134 or pick-up devices and cause rotation thereof. - As depicted in
Fig. 4 , in certain production lines, thefacemasks 134 may be conveyed to thedelivery location 148 at therotary wheel conveyor 144 in an initial transversely offset alternating configuration relative to a conveying axis of theconveyor 142. Themethod 100 may include aligning edges of thefacemasks 134 at analignment station 160 so that the facemasks lie along a common conveying axis by removing the offset betweenadjacent facemasks 134 as the facemasks are conveyed through thestation 160 prior to reaching therotary wheel conveyor 144. Thefacemasks 134 may be aligned at thestation 160 by guides positioned along the conveying path, or by an active device, such as a vacuum puck placer that picks up and repositions thefacemasks 134. - As mentioned, in a particular equipment configuration illustrated in
Figs. 4 and5 , therotary wheel conveyor 144 is operationally disposed above the wrappedfacemasks 134 in the production line, and the pick-updevices 146 are vacuum pucks spaced around an underside of therotary wheel 144. The wrappedfacemasks 134 are drawn onto thepucks 146 as the pucks pass overhead at thedelivery location 148. At the first orsecond staging areas pucks 146 release thefacemasks 134, which can fall by gravity or be guided into thecartons 152. As mentioned, thepucks 146 may be rotatable relative to therotary wheel 144, wherein themethod 100 further includes rotating thefacemasks 134 on the rotary wheel conveyor as needed to achieve a desired stacking pattern at thestaging areas - In an alternate embodiment of the
method 100, the pick-updevices 146 are stationary relative to therotary wheel conveyor 146 such that thefacemasks 134 are deposited into thecarton 152 in an orientation in which the facemasks were picked up at thedelivery location 148. Thus, with this embodiment, thefacemasks 134 are in an initial alternating pattern when picked up by the pick-updevices 146, and are deposited into thecarton 152 in this initial alternating pattern. - With the above embodiment, in the event that a facemask on the
rotary wheel conveyor 144 is determined to be unacceptable, the associated pick-updevice 146 of such facemask is controlled so as not to release thefacemask 134 at the carton staging area, but to transport thefacemask 134 to analternate location 162 and then release the mask. If this occurs, in order to maintain the desired alternating stacking pattern at thestaging area subsequent facemask 134 can be rotated by the pick-up devices on the rotary wheel to the correct alternated position. - The alternate location 162 (or an additional alternate location staged at the periphery of the rotary conveyor 144) may also be used to deposit good (i.e., not reject) facemasks, for example when the
staging area 150 is inoperable for some reason and it is not desirable to shut down the upstream production line. - In the embodiment where the pick-up
devices 146 are stationary relative to therotary wheel conveyor 144, themethod 100 may include also bypassing thestaging area facemask 134 immediately adjacent to the rejected facemask on the rotary wheel 144 (and possibly rejecting this mask) so as to keep the alternating stack pattern of facemasks deposited into thecarton 152. These same techniques can be used if afacemask 134 falls off of the rotary wheel prior to reaching thestaging area device 146 fails to acquire afacemask 134 at thedelivery location 148. - As mentioned above with respect to
Fig. 4 , depending on the centrifugal forces generated by therotary conveyor 144, thefacemask 134 may have a tendency to sling away from the conveyor at thestaging areas Fig. 6 illustrates an embodiment wherein thecartons 152 are not staged directly under the release position of the pick-updevices 146, but are spaced radially outward from the conveyor at thestaging areas Guide structure 155, such asangled chute 155 are configured at the staging areas such that, upon release, thefacemasks 134 are thrown into thechute 155, which has a shape and angular orientation to direct the facemasks into thecarton 152 at the desired stacking orientation. -
Fig. 7 depicts an embodiment wherein theconveyor 142 anddelivery location 148 are operationally located at a circumferential position on theconveyor 144 that minimized travel time and distance to thestaging areas conveyor 144 and release into acarton 152, but centrifugal forces acting on thefacemasks 134 at the time of release may also be minimized. - It should be appreciated that the methods and systems described herein are not limited to stacking and loading wrapped facemasks. The present invention is just as applicable to stacking and loading unwrapped facemasks. Although the embodiments described herein relate to wrapped facemasks, it is intended that the invention encompass the same methods and systems for stacking and loading unwrapped facemasks. For example, in the embodiment of
Fig. 4 , unwrapped facemasks could be conveyed byconveyor 142 to therotary conveyor 144, and then processed as described herein. - As mentioned, the present invention also encompasses various system embodiments for automated stacking and loading wrapped facemasks into a carton in a facemask production line in accordance with the present methods. Aspects of such systems are illustrated in the figures, and described and supported above.
- The material particularly shown and described above is not meant to be limiting, but instead serves to show and teach various exemplary implementations of the present subject matter. As set forth in the attached claims, the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and sub-combinations of various features discussed herein, along with such variations and modifications as would occur to a person of skill in the art.
Claims (15)
- An automated method (100) for stacking and loading facemasks into a carton (152) in a facemask production line (102), comprising:conveying individual facemasks (101, 134) to a delivery location (148) adjacent to a rotary wheel conveyor (144) having a plurality of individual pick-up devices (146) spaced around a circumference thereof;as the rotary wheel conveyor (144) rotates by the delivery location(148), picking up each wrapped facemask (101, 134) with a respective pick-up device (146) on the rotary wheel conveyor (144) and transporting the facemasks (101, 134) to a first carton staging area (150) at a first location on the circumference of the rotary wheel conveyor (144); andat the first staging area (150), releasing the facemasks (101, 134) from the rotary wheel conveyor (144) and depositing the facemasks (101, 134) into a carton (152) as the rotary wheel conveyor (144) rotates by the first staging area (150).
- The method as in claim 1, further comprising staging a plurality of the cartons (152) at the first staging area (150), and when the carton (152) is filled with a predefined number of the facemasks (101, 134), moving the filled carton from the first staging area (150) and moving an empty carton (152) into the first staging area (150) for subsequent filling.
- The method (100) as in claim 1, further comprising providing a second staging area (154) at a second location on the circumference of the rotary wheel (144), and staging a second carton (152) at the second staging area (154), wherein when the first carton (152) is filled to a predefined number of the facemasks (101, 134), transporting the facemasks (101, 134) with the rotary wheel conveyor (144) to the second staging area (154) and filling the second carton (152) with a defined number of the facemasks (101, 134), optionally wherein the first and second cartons (152) have a different size and are filled with a different number of facemasks (101, 134).
- The method (100) as in claim 1, further comprising rotating individual facemasks (101, 134) on the rotary wheel conveyor (144) with the pick-up devices (146) as needed to ensure that the facemasks (101, 134) are deposited into the carton (152) in an alternating stack pattern.
- The method (100) as in claim 1, wherein the facemasks (101, 134) are in an initial offset configuration on a conveyor (142), and further comprising aligning the facemasks (101, 134) along a common conveying axis by removing the offset between adjacent facemasks (101, 134) as the facemasks (101, 134) are conveyed along the production line (102) prior to reaching the rotary wheel (144).
- The method (100) as in claim 1, wherein the rotary wheel conveyor (144) is operationally disposed above the wrapped facemasks (101, 134) in the production line (102), and the pick-up devices (146) are rotatable vacuum pucks (146) spaced around the rotary wheel (144).
- The method (100) as in claim 1, wherein the pick-up devices (146) are stationary relative to the rotary wheel conveyor (144) such that the facemasks (101, 134) are deposited into the carton (152) in an orientation in which the facemasks (101, 134) were picked up by the pick-up devices (146).
- The method as in claim 7, wherein the facemasks (101, 134) are in an initial alternating pattern when picked up by the pick-up devices (146), and are deposited into the carton (152) in this initial alternating pattern, optionally wherein a reject facemask on the rotary wheel conveyor (144) bypasses the carton (152) and is released from the rotary wheel conveyor (144) at a reject location, and further comprising bypassing the carton (152) with the immediately adjacent facemask (101, 134) on the rotary wheel conveyor (144) so as to keep the alternating stack pattern of facemasks (101, 134) being deposited into the carton (152).
- The method (100) as in claim 1, wherein a downward force is imparted to the facemasks (101, 134) upon releasing the facemasks (101, 134) from the rotary wheel conveyor (144), optionally wherein the downward force is a pneumatic force generated by the pick-up devices (146).
- The method as in claim 1, wherein upon release from the rotary wheel conveyor (144), the facemasks (101, 134) are guided into the cartons (152) by guide structure (155) configured at the first staging area (150), or wherein the individual facemasks (101) are wrapped prior to reaching the delivery location (148).
- A system for stacking and loading wrapped facemasks (101, 134) into a carton (152) in a facemask production line (102) in accordance with the method (100) of claim 1, the system comprising:a rotary wheel conveyor (144);a plurality of individual pick-up devices (146) spaced around a circumference of the rotary wheel conveyor (144);a delivery location (148) adjacent to the rotary wheel conveyor (144);characterized in that it further comprises a first staging area (150) at a first location on the circumference of the rotary wheel conveyor (144);wherein individual facemasks (101, 134) conveyed to the delivery location (148) are picked up with a respective pick-up device (146) as the rotary wheel conveyor (144) rotates by the delivery location (148); andwherein the individual facemasks (101, 134) are released from the pick-up devices (146) and deposited into a carton (152) at the first staging area (150) as the rotary wheel conveyor (144) rotates by the first staging area (150).
- The system as in claim 11, further comprising a second staging area (154) at a second location on the circumference of the rotary wheel (144), wherein when the first carton (152) is filled to a predefined number of the facemasks (101, 134), the rotary wheel conveyor (144) transports the facemasks (101, 134) to the second staging area (154) for filling a second carton (152) at the second staging area (154).
- The system as in claim 11, wherein the pick-up devices (146) are rotatable relative to the rotary wheel conveyor (144); or wherein the pick-up devices (146) are stationary relative to the rotary wheel conveyor (144) such that the facemasks (101, 134) are deposited into the carton (152) in an orientation in which the facemasks (101, 134) were picked up by the pick-up devices (146).
- The system as in claim 11, wherein the rotary wheel conveyor (144) is disposed above the wrapped facemasks (134) in the production line (102), and the pick-up devices (146) are rotatable vacuum pucks (146) spaced around the rotary wheel conveyor (144).
- The system as in claim 11, wherein the pick-up devices (146) are vacuum pucks (146) that generate a downward pneumatic force imparted to the facemasks (101, 134) upon releasing the facemasks (101, 134) from the rotary wheel conveyor (144).
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CN109455340A (en) * | 2018-11-23 | 2019-03-12 | 珠海市商劲智能机械设备有限公司 | A kind of single layer facial mask takes the device of film and hair film automatically |
KR102282671B1 (en) * | 2020-11-17 | 2021-07-27 | 박민기 | A device and method for automatically fixing the outer circumference of a plurality of stacked wires with a plurality of wires |
CN113181064A (en) * | 2021-05-19 | 2021-07-30 | 孙逸飞 | High-water-locking moisturizing mask and processing technology thereof |
KR102599795B1 (en) * | 2021-06-15 | 2023-11-08 | (주)우인기연 | An apparatus for rotating mask body |
CN114516450B (en) * | 2022-01-14 | 2023-12-29 | 江苏昇瑞机械制造有限公司 | Arrangement adjusting device for sanitary product production line |
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- 2015-10-16 AU AU2015411837A patent/AU2015411837A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2015-10-16 MX MX2018004432A patent/MX2018004432A/en unknown
- 2015-10-16 US US15/768,170 patent/US10913559B2/en active Active
- 2015-10-16 WO PCT/US2015/055878 patent/WO2017065793A1/en active Application Filing
- 2015-10-16 JP JP2018519477A patent/JP6735343B2/en active Active
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MX2018004432A (en) | 2018-08-01 |
CA3001813A1 (en) | 2017-04-20 |
JP6735343B2 (en) | 2020-08-05 |
EP3361889A1 (en) | 2018-08-22 |
JP2018530684A (en) | 2018-10-18 |
US20180305046A1 (en) | 2018-10-25 |
WO2017065793A1 (en) | 2017-04-20 |
AU2015411837A1 (en) | 2018-04-19 |
US10913559B2 (en) | 2021-02-09 |
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